Low loss vibrator mechanism



Oct. 8, 1957 o, WELLS 2,809,250

LOW LOSS VIBRATOR MECHANISM Filed Sept. 21, 1954 INVENTOR H4 4}; a [ii /Z5.

ATTORNEY United States Patent LOW LOSS VIBRATOR MECHANISM Hugh 0. Wells, Greenwood, Ind., assignor to P. R. Mallory & Co., Inc., Indianapolis, Ind., a corporation of Delaware Application September 21, 1954, Serial No. 457,493 8 Claims. Cl. 200-90 This invention relates to vibrators and more particularly to a low loss vibrator mechanism of novel and improved character.

In conventional vibrators various difliculties were experienced in connection with the rocking and sliding of the mating contacts. Thus, considering first a vibrator with compliant reed arms having the contact located at the free extremity of said arms, under normal deflection the plane of the contact face undergoes an angular rotation causing the contact to rock on the heel of its mating contact. This rocking motion is undesirable since it presents a condition of minute making and breaking along the contact surface which often increases the surface film resistance on the contacts. The sliding displacement between cooperating contacts in this type of action is small, a desirable feature were it not for the rocking action, in which event some slide would be desirable in order to reduce the contact film of high resistance.

In another type of conventional vibrator mechanism compliant side springs are used having a contact located at their free extremity. As the cooperating reed arm contacts move against the relatively stationary contacts on the side springs, as dictated by the swing of the reed arms with the reed assembly, the side spring contacts move outward as determined by their supporting springs. This introduces considerable sliding motion between the cooperating contacts and results in higher mechanical losses and in higher contact erosion rate. Contact rocking action is usually present also, the extent depending on whether the side spring is used with a damper or stop, upon the amount of bias force used and the location of the bias point.

It will be noted that in vibrators of the first mentioned general class an undesirable contact rock condition is present, while in vibrators of the second general class an undesirable amount of contact slide is caused. Both of these conditions are undesirable in that they tend to shorten the useful life of the vibrator.

I have discovered that the foregoing difliculties experienced with conventional vibrators may be eliminated in a simple and completely satisfactory manner.

It is an object of the present invention to improve vibratory interrupters.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved vibrator mechanism which is characterized by extremely low contact rock and contact slide during its operation.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a low loss vibrator mechanism including a reed, reed arms and damper springs therefor, said reed arms bearing vibratory contacts mounted for cooperation with relatively sta- Z capable of operation for very long periods of time and which may be readily manufactured and sold on a practical and industrial scale at a low cost.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, the single figure of which illustrates a side elevational view of a vibrator embodying the principles of the present invention.

Broadly stated, in accordance with the principles of the present invention, there is provided a low loss vibrator mechanism comprising contacts which will remain flatly mated, undergoing a minimum of rock and slide during deflection. The reed arms are preferably compliant members, while the reed arm dampers employed in combination with said reed arms may or may not be compliant. The reed arm contacts are located between the reed arm form line and the bias point where the damper and the reed arms are in engagement at such a position as to promote flatness of the cooperating contacts during deflection. The damper serves to provide support to the free extremity of the reed arms and to suppress undesirabl oscillations of the reed arms during off contact time. The side springs bearing the relatively stationary contacts are members having a lower compliance than the reed arms, which results in a small amount of deflection during operation. The reed is of spring steel, although it is possible to substitute a mild steel armature and a spring steel hinge for the reed if so desired without losing any of the desirable operational characteristics of the vibrator. The remaining parts of the vibrator assembly, such as contacts, frame, coil, stack bolts, insulators, etc., may be of any suitable design well known in the vibrator art.

The invention will now be more fully described in connection with the drawing. Reference numeral 10 denotes a frame formed of ferromagnetic material having a hookshaped end 11 constituting a pole piece having a driver coil 12 around it. A stack generally denoted by numeral 13 is mounted at the other end of frame It) by means of a stack bolt 14 and a nut 15. In the stack are clamped a reed 16 between a pair of metal spacers 17 and two side springs 18, insulative spacers 19 being provided between the reed and the side springs in order to electrically insulate them from each other. Of course, an insulating sleeve (not shown) is provided around the stack bolt in the usual manner in order to prevent short-circuiting of the several clamped metal members by means of the stack bolt.

The vibratory system of the vibrator comprises reed 16, one end of which is clamped in the stack, as described in the foregoing, while its other end carries an armature 20 arranged in cooperating relation with pole piece 11. At an intermediate portion of the reed are secured two reed arm dampers 21 by means of a rivet 22. These reed arm dampers have one of their portions extending flat along the reed while their remainders are bent away from the reed and are provided with slightly curved ends as shown at 23. A compliant reed arm 24 is likewise mounted on each side of the reed by means of the same rivet 22 as is used for attachment of the dampers. It will be noted that the curved ends of the dampers are in sliding engagement with the ends of the respective reed arms, the point of their engagement, or the bias point, being denoted by numeral 25.

A vibratory contact 26 is mounted on each of reed arms 24 between the reed arm form line 27 and the damper-reed arm bias point 25. Vibratory contacts 26 cooperate with relatively stationary contacts 28, one of which is mounted at the end of each side spring 18, the compliance of which is generally lower than that of the reed arms.

The relative compliance of the vibrator parts described in the foregoing and their geometric locations have been combined to achieve a minimum of rock and a minimum ofslide condition of the contacts during operation. This has been found to produce a higher contact force for a given amount of driving energy into the mechanism and results in lower contact wear and longer vibrator life.

From the foregoing description, the operation of the vibrator of the present invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. When the vibrator is connected in circuit with a source of direct current and a transformer, the reed, the reed arms, the dampers and the vibratory contacts will be maintained in continuous vibration. Each reed arm will be periodically deflected as its contact makes and forcibly dwells against the cooperating side spring contact in such amanner as will induce a minimum of contact rock or slide. The action of the reed arms is similar to that of a simple beam supported at each end and having a force applied thereto at its midsection in such a way that the average plane of the beam at that point does not rotate or change angle but deflects in a manner similar to the normal compression of a coiled spring. This mode of operation is greatly superior to that of all conventional vibrators in which the vibratory contact is carried at the end of the reed arms and wherein a certain amount of contact rock or slide is unavoidable regardless of the way in which the compliance is divided between the side springs and the reed arms.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, variations and modifications may be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the principles of the present invention. All of these variations and modifications are considered to be within the true spirit and scope of the present invention, as disclosed in the foregoing description and defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A vibrator comprising, in combination, a vibratory reed fixed at one end, a compliant reed arm at each side of said reed and having one of its ends secured thereto, a reed arm support and damper spring being less compliant than the reed arm for each of said reed arms having one of its ends secured to said reed and normally extending along and in direct contact with the reed and having its other end bent away from the reed and extending into sliding engagement with the free end of the reed arm, a vibratory contact mounted on the center region of each reed arm, a relatively stationary contact mounted for cooperation with each of said vibratory contacts, and electromagnetic means for maintaining said reed in vibration, whereby upon closing of the vibratory and stationary contacts the reed arms are supported at both ends and r are bowed inwardly causing resilient displacement of the vibratory contacts in such direction as to maintain the face of said contacts in substantial parallelism with the face of the corresponding stationary contacts and to prevent sliding and rocking of the cooperating contacts with respect to each other.

2. A vibrator comprising, in combination, a vibratory reed fixed at one of its ends and free for vibration at the other of its ends, a compliant reed arm at each side of said reed and having one of its ends secured thereto, a reed arm support and damper spring being less compliant than the reed arm interposed between each reed arm and the reed having one of its ends secured to said reed and normally extending along and in direct contact with the reed and having its other end bent away from the reed and extending into sliding engagement with the free end of the corresponding reed arm, a vibratory contact mounted on each reed arm substantially in the center of the free length of such arm, a relatively stationary contact mounted for cooperation with each of said vibratory contacts, and electromagnetic means for maintaining said reed in vibration whereby upon closing of the vibratory and stationary contacts the reed arms are supported at both ends and are bowed inwardly causing resilient displacement of the vibratory contacts in such direction as to maintain the face of said contacts in substantial parallelism with the face of the corresponding stationary contacts and to prevent sliding and rocking of the cooperating contacts with respect to each other.

3. A vibrator comprising, in combination, a vibratory reed fixed at one end and free for vibration at the other end, a reed arm support and damper spring at each side of said reed having one of its ends secured to and extending along and in direct contact with said reed to a point where its other end extends away from said reed, a reed arm for each of said damper springs having one of its ends secured to said reed and its other end extending into damping engagement with the corresponding damper spring, said damper spring being less compliant than the reed arm, a vibratory contact on each of said reed arms located substantially equidistantially between the reed arm form line and the damper spring-reed arm bias point, a relatively sta tionary contact for each of said vibratory contacts, and electromagnetic means for maintaining said reed in vibration whereby upon closing of a. pair of vibratory and stationary contacts the corresponding reed arm is bowed inwardly causing resilient displacement of the vibratory contacts in such direction as to maintain the face of said contacts in parallelism with the face of the contacts cooperating therewith and to prevent sliding and rocking of the cooperating contacts with respect to each other.

4. A vibrator comprising, in combination, a frame, a driver coil at one end of the frame, a stack at the other end of said frame, a reed having one of its ends clamped in said stack and having an armature at its other end extending into cooperative relation with said driver coil, a compliant reed armmounted on each side of said reed, a reed arm support and damper spring being less compliant than the reed arm for each of said reed arms having one of its ends secured to the reed and normally extending along and in direct contact with the reed and having its other end bent away from the reed and extending into sliding engagement with the terminal region of the corresponding reed arm, a contact mounted on each reed arm substantially equidistantially from the reed arm form line and from the point of engagement between said reed arm and its damper spring, a side spring for each of said reed arms having one of its ends clamped in said stack, and a contact mounted at the other end of each side spring for cooperation with said reed arm contacts whereby upon closing of a pair of reed arm and side spring contacts the corresponding reed arm is bowed inwardly causing resilient displacement of its contact in such direction as to maintain parallelism of the face of said contact with the face of the cooperating contact and to prevent sliding and rocking of the cooperating contacts with respect to each other during deflection.

5. A vibrator comprising, in combination, a stack, a vibratory reed fixed at one of its ends in said stack and free for vibration at its other end, a compliant reed arm at each side of said reed and having one of its ends secured thereto, a reed arm support and damper spring being less compliant than the reed arm interposed between each reed arm and the reed and having one of its ends secured thereto, said damper spring having one of its portions extending along and in direct contact with the reed and having its remainder bent away from the reed with its end extending into sliding engagement with the corresponding reed arm, a contact mounted on each reed arm substantially equidistantially from the reed arm form line and from the point of engagement between said reed arm and its damper spring, a side spring at each side of said reed having one of its ends clamped in said stack. a relatively stationary contact at the free end of each side spring in cooperating relation with the respective vibratory contact, and electromagnetic means including a driver coil for maintaining said reed in vibration whereby upon closing of a pair of vibratory and stationary contacts the corresponding reed arm is bowed inwardly causing resilient displacement of its contact in such direction as to maintain parallelism of the face of said contact with the face of the cooperating contact during deflection and to prevent sliding and rocking of the cooperating contacts with respect to each other.

6. A vibrator comprising, in combination, a ferromagnetic frame having a hook at one end constituting a pole piece, a driver coil around said pole piece, a stack mounted on the other end of said frame, a vibratory reed having one of its ends clamped in said stack and having its free end extending into cooperating relation with said pole piece, a reed arm secured to each side of said reed, a reed arm support and damper spring being less compliant than the reed arm interposed between each reed arm and the reed having one of its ends secured to the reed and normally extending along and in direct contact with the reed and having its other end bent away from the reed and extending into sliding engagement with the corresponding reed arm, a vibratory contact on each of said reed arms centrally located between the form line of the reed arms and their point of engagement with the damper spring, a side spring for each of said reed arms having one of its ends clamped in said stack, and a relatively stationary contact at the other end of each side spring for cooperation with said vibratory contacts whereby upon closing of a pair of vibratory and stationary contacts the corresponding reed arm is bowed inwardly causing resilient displacement of its contact in such direction as to maintain parallelism of the face of said contact with the face of the cooperating contact during deflection and to prevent sliding and rocking of the cooperating contacts with respect to each other.

7. A vibrator comprising, in combination, .a formmagnetic frame having a pole piece at one end, a driver coil around said pole piece, a stack mounted on the other end of said frame, a vibratory reed having one of its ends clamped in said stack and having its free end extending into cooperating relation with said pole piece, a compliant reed arm secured to each side of said reed, a reed arm support and damper spring being less compliant than the reed arm interposed between each reed arm and the reed having one of its ends secured to the reed and normally extending along and in direct contact with the reed and having its other end bent away from the reed and extending into sliding engagement with the corresponding reed arm, a

vibratory contact on each of said reed anns centrally located between the form line of the reed arms and their point of engagement with the damper spring, a side spring of lesser compliance than that of the reed arms for each reed arm having one of its ends clamped in said stack, and a relatively stationary contact at the other end of each side spring arranged for cooperation with said vibratory contacts whereby upon closing of a pair of vibratory and stationary contacts the corresponding reed arm is bowed inwardly causing resilient displacement of its contact in such direction as to maintain parallelism of the face of said contact with the face of the cooperating contact during deflection and to prevent sliding and rocking of the cooperating contacts with respect to each other.

8. In combination with a vibratory interrupter having electromagnetic driving means and relatively stationary contacts, a vibratory system driven by said means comprising a reed, a compliant reed arm mounted on each side of said reed, a reed arm support and damper spring being less compliant than the reed arm interposed between each reed arm and the reed having one of its ends secured to the reed and normally extending along and in direct contact with the reed and having its other end bent away from the reed and extending into sliding engagement with the terminal region of the reed arm, and a vibratory contact mounted on each reed arm adapted to cooperate with said stationary contacts, said vibratory contact being centrally located between the form line of the reed arm and its point of engagement with the damper spring whereby upon closing of a pair of vibratory and stationary contacts the corresponding reed arm is bowed inwardly causing resilient displacement of its contact in such direction as to maintain parallelism of the face of said contact with the face of the cooperating contact and to prevent sliding and rocking of the cooperating contacts with respect to each other during deflection.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,013,513 Dressel Sept. 3, 1935 2,197,607 Brown Apr. 16, 1940 2,490,895 Aust et al. Dec. 13, 1949 2,606,259 Huetten Aug. 5, 1952 

